1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to card games and learning tools and, more specifically, to an educational card game and learning tool for teaching children how to correctly pronounce letters and words.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous card games and learning tools have been provided in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,192,513; 5,108,113; 5,310,347; 5,368,305 and 5,524,899 all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
Playing cards are disclosed having a unique diamond shape that facilitates the handling and display of the cards. A three-letter sequence is imprinted centrally on the front face of each card, the letters forming a natural alphabetic sequence. The second letter in the sequence is also imprinted near the upper and lower corners of each card in mutually inverted orientations so as to be readily visible and recognizable from either end of the card. The cards are divided into four suits such as diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs. Each of the cards has a corresponding suit symbol imprinted near the upper and lower corners thereof again in mutually inverted orientations so as to be recognizable from either end of the card. There are preferably twenty-six cards in each suit with each suit having cards with a second letter in the three-letter sequence corresponding to the letters of the alphabet from "A" to "Z". The cards can be used for playing word games as well as conventional card games.
The present invention, designed especially for preschoolers, is a phonics card game comprising in combination eight decks of letter cards, word cards and short- and long-vowel sound cards. This phonics card game is comprehensive and fun. As the players play with this card game, they see and name all the letters of the alphabet; they show the sequence of the alphabet; they separate vowel from consonant letters and have a special vowel and consonant category for W's and Y's; and they match lower-case letters with capital letters having the same name. As the players play with this card game they hear and say the short-and long-vowel words; and they see, clap, and say words with one or more syllables. The players can win this card game without using up all the cards in a deck. They merely have to have the most stars, which are exchanged for points earned when players say a letter or word correctly on the first try. As the players play with the present invention, they have fun, show what they know, and gain the rudiments of phonics.
A card game to facilitate the learning of spelling words. The card game is comprised of a number deck and a word deck. Players play the numbered cards and are then commanded to spell a word from a card from the word deck having a length equal to the additive sum of the numbered playing cards played.
A card game utilizes one or more modified decks of standard playing cards by eliminating the eights, nines and tens. The remaining spot cards (ace through seven) are valued at face value, while the face or court cards (kings, queens and jacks) are valued at one half point each. The object of the game is to draw a hand totaling seven and one half points, without exceeding that total. Various options are provided, including "splitting pairs," in which two equal value cards may be split into two hands at the beginning of play where the point values for the first card and the subsequent card are each less than four; "doubling down," in which a player may double the wager and receive one further card; or "surrendering," where a player may give up a portion of the wager at the beginning of play. Wagers are returned to the player in case of ties, rather than going to the dealer. The game is adaptable to casino play, electronic or computer play, and also to private play by individuals. A playing surface adapted specifically for the play of the present game is also provided.
A youth oriented alphabet learning card game is set forth in several generic-variants, the preferred embodiment featuring a special corner oriented arrangement of alphabetic indicia, in combination with a related key visual picture-pairing object illustration arranged centrally within the card format. Thus, on each individual card a different alphabet character is represented in both upper and lower case ("A" and "a" for example), preferably positioned upper-case immediately above lower-case. Additionally, the particular arrangement of card face graphics is such that it is essentially impossible for a youngster to hold the preferably rectangular cards in a manner in which some cards appear confusingly up-side down. An optional diamond card configuration offers the human-engineering advantage of the player's ability to now easily fan cards out at their upward ends to observe each individual alphabet letter, while the lower diamond-tip ends of the cards virtually converge into a V-formation, found more easily held in a small hand. Each alphabet-set or suit of cards is preferably identified via a colored-frame around the central object illustrations, there preferably being two suits to a game. The redeeming quality of this game residing in it's teaching of the alphabet, matching of objects, counting, phonics, spelling, and training of memory all without the learner experiencing boredom common in learning concentration disciplines.